When you change your lifestyle people notice. Sometimes the sin you leave tries to drag you back through friends and family. When you choose to be more obedient to the Creator, the people around you will not only question your choice but they may also ridicule and laugh at you. Even Yeshua/Jesus said if you follow what he is teaching (and he taught to be faithful to the word of the Father) you will be persecuted. Psalm 35:10—11, “All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?” Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.”

Happy New Year!!!

"Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."

Jn 3

Thought for Today: Friday March 24:

Only a few people know how to rest these days. Even when on holiday, most people rush to cram in as much as they can before returning to their daily lives, where they spend twice as much energy catching up on the work, mail and emails that has piled up in their absence. Perhaps, we look for rest in the wrong places. Yeshua is the Ultimate Rest, He is the confidence we need, to escape the frustrations and chaos of the world around us. Find rest in Him and do not worry about tomorrow or what is in the future. Yeshua Moshiach has already taken care of the future. Your task is to trust Him. Have faith and be blessed!

SERIES K --- ISRAEL’S GOLDEN AGE --- LESSON 08

ABSALOM FLEES

ABSALOM’S ADVENTURES

From 2 Samuel 13:27-14:33

After the murder of Amnon, Absalom ran away to Geshur where he lived with his mother’s father, King Talmai of Geshur. For three years Absalom lived there in exile, but daily his father King David, yearned to have him back, for David by this time was reconciled to the death of his son Amnon. Joab recognized David’s desire to have Absalom back and made plans to work things out. He knew that he would have to do something dramatic to cause David to send for Absalom, so he made arrangements with a very clever woman of Tekoa to visit the king. Joab told the woman exactly what she should say to David. ‘Put on mourning clothing and pretend that you are in deep sorrow,’ Joab instructed her. ‘Do not wear perfumed oil and pretend that you have been mourning for several days for someone who is dead.’ When the woman was brought before King David, she fell with her face to the ground before him. ‘Help me!’ she pleaded. ‘What is your problem?’ the king asked. ‘I am a widow with two sons,’ she said. ‘One day my sons were fighting in a field and since no one was there to stop them, one of them killed the other. Now my family is trying to force me to give up my only living son to be executed for the murder of his brother. This would take away my only son and remove my husband’s heir from the face of the earth.’ ‘You may go home in peace,’ King David answered. ‘I will see that no harm comes to your son.’ ‘I will take the blame for this if anyone is angry for sparing his life,’ the woman said. ‘You must not bear any of the guilt for sparing a son who murdered his brother.’ ‘If anyone causes you further trouble about this, bring him to me and I’ll put a stop to that!’ David answered. ‘Swear by YHVH’s Name that you will keep anyone from harming my son!’ the woman said. ‘I swear by YHVH’s Name that no one will harm your son,’ the king promised. ‘Please let me tell you something else,’ said the woman. ‘Tell me!’ the king commanded. ‘Why don’t you do for all of YHVH’s people what you have just done for me?’ the woman answered. ‘You are condemning yourself by not bringing your own son from exile. We must all die sometime, like water spilled upon the ground, but the YHVH Who gives us life does not exile us from Himself and keep us there. Surely YHVH will not punish you if you bring your own son home from exile.’ ‘I have pleaded with you for the life of my son because he and I have been in danger. I was sure that you would spare us from those who would harm us and that you would give us peace again. I knew that you are like an angel of YHVH who can discern between good and evil. May YHVH be with you to know what is right to do.’ ‘Tell me something,’ King David demanded. ‘Hide nothing from me!’ ‘Yes, I will tell you, ’The woman answered. ‘Did Joab plan all this?’ the king asked. ‘Yes, Joab sent me here and told me exactly what to say,’ the woman confessed. ‘He did this to help you see what you are doing to your son and to yourself. But you are as wise as an angel, so you will know what is best.’ When the woman was gone, King David sent for Joab. ‘Bring Absalom back home!’ he commanded. Joab fell with his face to the ground before King David. ‘I know now that you favour me, for you have granted this request.’ Joab brought Absalom from Geshur to Jerusalem. However, King David said, ‘Absalom must live in his own house; he must never come to see me.’ Absalom did as he was commanded, living apart from King David in his own house. Absalom was the most handsome man in all Israel and everyone said so. Once each year he cut his hair when it became too heavy, for it weighed about three pounds. His body was almost perfect; there was not one blemish from the bottom of his foot to the top of his head. Absalom had three sons and a daughter named Tamar, a very beautiful girl. Two years passed after Absalom returned to Jerusalem and still, he had not seen his father, King David. One day he sent a message to Joab, hoping that Joab would talk to the king for him. But Joab did not answer his message. Then Absalom sent another message, but Joab did not answer that one either. Absalom summoned some of his servants. ‘Set fire to Joab’s barley field which is next to mine,’ he ordered. When his servants had set fire to the field, Joab hurried over to see Absalom. ‘Why have your servants set fire to my field?’ he demanded. ‘Because I wanted you to come so I could send you to speak to the king for me,’ said Absalom. ‘Ask him why he brought me here from Geshur since he refuses to see me. I want to go before my father and if he finds something wrong with me, let him put me to death.’ After Joab reported Absalom’s words to the king, David summoned the young man before him. Absalom bowed to the ground and David welcomed him with a kiss.

COMMENTARY

DAVID’S PERSONAL ENEMIES

The psalms which David wrote are filled with references concerning his enemies. Throughout all psalms, there are more than fifty references to the enemies of the king and Adonai and many referred to the enemies of David. At first, this may seem strange, for King David was one of the mightiest warriors in the entire Bible. Even as a young man in his teen years, or early twenties, he commanded the respect of the armies of Israel, for he had dared to fight the Philistine champion Goliath, which no other Israelite soldier had been willing to do. The bravest warriors of Israel and there were some with legendary might, held King David in great respect, for they recognized that he was as brave as they. Yet, with all David’s bravery, he was also a man of unusual tenderness. When Absalom rebelled against David, plotted his death and tried to steal his kingdom, David refused to kill him and begged Joab to show Absalom mercy. When David’s soldiers wanted him to strike King Saul dead and thus bring revenge, David refused. Although Saul was David’s worst enemy, he would not harm him, for Saul was Adonai’s anointed king. Thus, it is interesting to reconcile David’s feelings about his enemies with his unwillingness to harm some of them. In many psalms, David asks Adonai to take vengeance on his enemies, even though David usually refused to take vengeance on them. Perhaps that is because David wanted punishment to be in Adonai’s hands and not in his. It is a worthwhile experience to look up [enemies] in a concordance and then read each verse in the Book of Psalms which mentions this word. It will give special insight into King David and how he felt about his enemies.

No podcast tonight because the electric is off for most of our area.

Shalom Torah Family & Happy Biblical New Year.
#aviv
#newyear
#biblicalnewyear

At sunset 03/23/23 begins the first day of the first month of the new biblical year. Happy new moon and new biblical year!

SERIES K --- ISRAEL’S GOLDEN AGE --- LESSON 07

SINS AT HOME

PRINCE AMNON’S FOOLISH MISTAKE

From 2 Samuel 13:1-36

Princess Tamar, the daughter of King David, was very beautiful. She was so beautiful that her half-brother Amnon, the son of King David, fell in love with her. In fact, Amnon was so in love with Tamar [who was a full sister of Prince Absalom] that he became sick. Amnon couldn’t tell Tamar how he felt about her, for the princes and princesses were not permitted to be together regularly. Amnon had a cousin Jonadab, the son of King David’s brother Shimeah, who was a very cunning fellow. Before long, Jonadab came up with a plan to help Amnon. ‘Every morning you look very sad,’ Jonadab said to Amnon. ‘Why should a prince look like that? Tell me.’ ‘It’s Tamar!’ Amnon answered. ‘I’m in love with her and I want to be with her.’ ‘Well, that’s easy to arrange,’ Jonadab told him. ‘Lie on your couch and pretend you are sick. When your father comes to see you, ask him to send Tamar to prepare a meal for you.’ Amnon followed Jonadab’s advice. When King David came to see him, he asked him to send Tamar to prepare a meal for him. As soon as David returned home, he sent Tamar to do as Amnon had requested. Tamar mixed the bread dough, kneaded it, made some small loaves of bread and baked them while Amnon watched. But when Tamar brought the food to him, he would not eat. ‘Everyone but Tamar must leave!’ Amnon ordered. Everyone else left the room. ‘Now bring the food to my bed and feed me,’ Amnon said to Tamar. She did as he requested and brought the food to his bed, but Amnon would not eat it. ‘Come, get in bed with me!’ he begged. ‘No, you must not ask me to do that,’ Tamar answered. ‘Such a thing must not be done in Israel. How could I ever live with my shame if I did that? And you a prince, would be like one of the vulgar men of the street. Ask our father and I’m sure he will let us marry.’ But Amnon would not listen to Tamar and being stronger than she, he forced her into bed with him. However, Amnon’s supposed ‘love’ suddenly changed to loathing. He hated her now even more than he had thought he loved her. ‘Get up and get out of here!’ he commanded. ‘Would you send me away after you have forced me?’ she cried out. ‘That is even more wrong than forcing me into bed with you.’ Amnon would not listen to Tamar’s pleas. He called for his personal attendant and ordered, ‘get this woman out of my sight and lock the door behind her!’ Tamar was wearing a long robe with sleeves that reached almost to the floor, a symbol that she was a virgin princess. She tore her robe, put ashes on her head and with her face in her hands walked away, crying as she went. ‘Did Amnon do this to you?’ demanded her brother Absalom when he saw her. ‘Well, let’s not worry about it, for he is your brother.’ But Absalom really felt very deeply about it and he hated Amnon for what he had done. Tamar lived at her brother Absalom’s house, but what a desolate woman she was! King David too, was very angry when he heard what Amnon had done. Although Absalom hated Amnon, he hid his hatred, planning how he might get revenge. Two years went by and Absalom still did nothing about Amnon. One day he invited his father and brothers to a feast to celebrate the shearing of his sheep at Baal-hazor in Ephraim. ‘We can’t all go to the feast,’ King David answered. ‘That’s asking too much!’ Absalom insisted, but David still would not go to the feast. ‘Then send Amnon in your place,’ Absalom insisted. ‘Why do you want Amnon there?’ David asked. But Absalom kept pressing David until he let Amnon go with the other brothers. Then Absalom made plans to kill Amnon. ‘When Amnon gets drunk with wine, kill him!’ Absalom told his servants. ‘Do not be afraid, for I order you to do this.’ Absalom’s servants did as they were commanded and killed Amnon. Terrorized, the other brothers jumped on their mules and fled for their lives. News travels fast! Before long, someone told King David that Absalom had killed all his other sons. David was so anguished that he got up and tore his clothing in grief then fell to the ground. His attendants stood around him, tearing their clothing also. Jonadab was there among them. ‘You must not think that all your sons are dead,’ he said to David. ‘I’m sure that only Amnon was killed. Absalom has plotted his death ever since he did that to Tamar. Forget about all your sons being killed. I’m sure it’s only Amnon.’ Suddenly the young man who was watching on the wall saw a crowd approaching the city by the road on the hillside. ‘See!’ said Jonadab. ‘Here come your other sons, just as I said.’ The king’s sons rushed in and began to cry out with loud voices. King David and his attendants also began to cry loudly. As for Absalom, he escaped and went away to live with his mother’s father, Talmai the son of Amminihud, king of Geshur. Throughout the three years that Absalom stayed there, his father missed him badly. David’s heart longed for Absalom, for he had become reconciled to the fact that Amnon was dead.

COMMENTARY

ANCIENT ART WITH IVORY

Much of the modern knowledge about clothing fashions and hairstyles in Bible times comes from carved ivory inlays on furniture. Elephants could be found in Africa and Syria and their tusks were used for making luxury items. Ivory was used to make combs, boxes and for wall and furniture inlays in wealthy homes. Solomon is said to have had an ivory throne overlaid with gold; the throne was probably made of wood, then inlaid with ivory and gold was then inlaid into the ivory. Ivory was also used to decorate couches and to panel rooms of palaces. Ahab had a [house of ivory,] which must mean that it was panelled or inlaid on the inside with ivory since ivory itself is not strong enough to use as a building material. Women were not often carved on ancient steles and reliefs. The many ivory heads of women found at Megiddo and other places are very important for our knowledge of women’s clothing and hair styles in Bible times. They also reveal what the standard of beauty was in ancient cultures.